Plan the Marketing Strategy

Successful marketing of your workplace obesity prevention and control program has two important goals:

1. To inform people that the program is going to start or already exists.
2. To encourage participation and sustain interest over time.¹⁷⁹

To accomplish these goals, here are some tips that might help you—

• Obtain an endorsement from the company president, director, or senior manager.
• Develop a creative name (you can hold a contest with employees to choose a name), theme, and brand for the program.
• Release announcements through e-mail (view sample (DOC-25k)), bulletin boards, and newsletters.
• Use word-of-mouth, both from planning committee members and program participants themselves.

To increase program participation, keep these tips in mind–

• Explain how your program meets employees' needs (see Conduct a Needs Assessment.)
• Make your promotion launches as festive as possible using things like balloons, music, and flowers.
• Publicize the program in a variety of ways to reach the largest possible number of people.
• Use bulletin boards to share information about your program.
• Encourage the director of your organization or senior manager to participate in program activities to set an example for other employees.
• Remove barriers by making the sign up process easy and activities convenient.

Develop Participant Handouts and Other Materials

Consider different materials when developing your marketing strategy. Use multiple strategies to help you reach the highest possible number of employees. Some options to consider include–

• Handouts.
• Posters.
• Videos.
• Information booklets on topics such as hypertension or the benefits of physical activity.
• Healthy recipes.
• Record-keeping journals.
• Self-instruction materials such as weight loss manuals and food records for monitoring eating behavior and calorie intake.
• Free and downloadable resources available from CDC and other federal resources, such as CDC's Healthier Worksite Initiative and HHS Small Steps.

Also in This Section

• Establish employee communication channels
• Determine incentives and rewards
• Launch the program
• Expert Interview - David Anderson, PhD
• Expert Interview - George J. Pfeiffer

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